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14 Dec 2017

A majority of PE residents support rented private residences receiving the same taxes and regulations as other paid accommodations

Just over one-half of Prince Edward Island residents support rented private residences being taxed and regulated in the same manner as other paid accommodations in the province, while four in ten express opposition in this regard

Support for rented private residences and other accommodations to have the same taxes and regulations in Prince Edward Island is consistent with such support in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, but is higher compared to such support in New Brunswick

HALIFAX, NS December 14, 2017: Online accommodations booking services, such as Airbnb, are commonly used to rent privately owned houses, apartments, or other residences. There has been recent debate surrounding whether or not these accommodations should be taxed and regulated to follow the same standards as other paid accommodations, such as hotels and motels. Overall, a slight majority of Prince Edward Islanders support rented private residences listed on these online accommodations booking services being taxed and regulated to follow the same standards as other paid accommodations in the province, according to the most recent survey conducted by Corporate Research Associates Inc.

Specifically, just over one-half (53%) of Prince Edward Island residents completely or mostly support rented private residences being taxed and regulated to follow the same standards as other paid accommodations in the province. Meanwhile, four in ten (40%) residents either completely or mostly oppose rented private residences and other paid accommodations having the same taxes and regulations.

Across Atlantic Canada, support in Prince Edward Island for rented private residences being taxed and regulated in the same manner as other paid accommodations is similar to such support in Nova Scotia (50%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (50%), but is higher compared to such support in New Brunswick (42%).

“There continues to be considerable public debate related to the treatment of privately rented accommodations in Canada in terms of both taxation and regulation,” said Don Mills, Chairman and CEO of Corporate Research Associates. “The majority view on the Island is that such accommodations should be both regulated and taxed in the same manner as other commercial accommodations.”

These results are part of the CRAAtlantic Quarterly®, an independent, quarterly telephone survey of Atlantic Canadians, and are based on a telephone sample of 264 adult Prince Edward Islanders, conducted from November 1 to 30, 2017, with overall results accurate to within ± 6.0 percentage points, 95 out of 100 times.

Corporate Research Associates (CRA), www.cra.ca, is one of Canada’s leading public opinion and market research companies. Founded in 1978, CRA is dedicated to providing clients with state-of-the-art research and strategic consulting services. CRA is a Certified Gold Seal Member of the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association (MRIA), which sets stringent standards as a condition of membership, and enforces those standards through independent audits. Follow us on Twitter @CRAInsight.